WTA: May 8-14 2006 Qatar Total German Open, Berlin, GER Tier I $1,340,000 - 56 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes results - order of play - draws, .html webcam photos: tourney gallery - Yahoo! news photos - WTA Berlin: weather radar - forecast - map # 1 Amelie Mauresmo, # 4 Nadia Petrova # 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne, # 8 Patty Schnyder ECM Prague Open, Prague, CZE Tier IV $145,000 - 32 players - outdoor: red clay Live Scores link changed again WTA pdf.: draws & OOP order of play & results - draws, .html photos: tourney gallery - Yahoo! news photos - WTA Prague: weather radar (red + over Prague) - forecast # 27 Marion Bartoli, # 31 Lucie Šafářová # 36 Shahar Peer, # 50 Emilie Loit

Tourney pages: Berlin 2005 - 2004 Prague: 2005 previous other tourney pages next Berlin: #4 Nadia Petrova 5' 10¼", 143lbs, RH, 2H-BH Prague: #36 Shahar Peer 5' 7", 132lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Berlin, in the final of the German Open, 23-year-old 2nd-seeded # 4 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, Russia, the runner up last year, narrowly defeated the 2002, 2003, & 2005 Berlin champ, 3rd-seeded 23-year-old # 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 (Nadia is shown with the gold falcon of the Qatar Tennis Federation, which runs the German Open as well as the tourney in Doha, Qatar-- Nadia held the falcon there this year, too).
    The last time Justine had lost in Berlin was in 2001 to Jennifer Capriati; Justine's German Open match record is now 24-2. Nadia had only defeated Justine once in 9 career matches. It was Nadia's 15th match victory in a row, all on clay, and she has won the last three tourneys she has played in. Nadia lost the first four WTA singles finals that she played in-- and has won the last five.

    Nadia called for the trainer after she won the 2nd set. Nadia said: "I don't know what to say. My legs were tired, my back began to hurt in the second set and I had problems serving. All I could do was fight."WTA story
    Justine said: "I didn't do the right things all the time, and that's why I lost today... I knew [Nadia] was going to be very offensive, and that's what she did, and that's why she won." Reuters story
Petrova record - Nadia Petrova Wallpaper
Henin-Hardenne record - Justine Henin-Hardenne Wallpaper

    In the final of the Prague Open on Sunday, 19-year-old 3rd-seeded # 36 Shahar Peer from Maccabim, Israel, defeated 22-year-old 5th-seeded # 55 Samantha Stosur from Gold Coast, Australia, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 (Shahar is shown after match point).
    Shahar said: "It is my second final and second title, it was great week and I'm happy for that. In the second set I started to play more agressive, tried to win the first few points and not to let [Samantha] move me around." WTA story
    Samantha said: "I started really well the first set, but [Shahar] definitely picked up her game, made me run, played to my backhand, and started to be very agressive afterwards."

Berlin: The main draw for Berlin has 16 seeds, with 8 1st-round byes. There are 8 qualifiers and 4 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Sunday.     Berlin daylight savings time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Berlin has live scoring by points.     Early round play in Berlin begins at 11am local time. Prague time is the same as Berlin.     Prague: The main draw for Prague has 8 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 4 qualifiers and 2 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Monday.     Prague time daylight savings time is also GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 2 hours (US Pacific Daylight Time +9, EDT +6). Prague has live scoring by points.     Rott-Weiss Tennis Club - click pic for interactive sat pic & street map   I. Český Lawn-Tennis Klub - click pic for interactive sat pic-street map

WTA SCOREBOARD: German Open, Berlin, & Prague Open s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, Patty Schnyder, and Justine Henin-Hardenne met the press in Berlin on Monday. 16-year old German wild card Sabine Lisicki (left) also spoke to reporters on Monday, who no doubt asked her if it was very difficult being so young and pretty. Martina Hingis (right), who has lived through this problem to the ripe old age of 25, arrived to practice on Sunday. And German # 1 Anna-Lena Groenefeld (center) did pretty well at the draw on Saturday; after her 1st round bye, she will face either # 37 Catalina Castano or # 115 Sandra Kloesel in the 2nd round (put your hair down, ladies, you'll sell more tickets). Many of the good-looking healthy young ladies did deploy their hair for the player's party on Tuesday night. Attendees included: top: Daniela Hantuchova, Patty Schnyder, Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze, Martina Muller, & Ai Sugiyama bottom: Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Julia Schruff, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Tathiana Garbin, Amelie Mauresmo, & Martina Hingis.

Berlin, 1st Rnd, Mon-Tue 11am losers' prize: $3,455 US; points: 1 *#95 q Laura Pous Tio ESP d #17 s9 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-4, 6-3 Tue Elena looking concerned, and Laura swatting a backhand #18 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #66 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-1, 6-4 Mon Maria Antonia's backhand, and Dinara's forehand *#25 Martina Hingis SUI d #19 s11 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-3 Tue Martina's toss, Flavia's forehand, and Martina's backhand *#70 Na Li CHN d #20 s12 Ana Ivanovic SCG 1-6 retired-- left hamstring strain Tue Ana ready, and Na's forehand *#49 Jie Zheng CHN d #21 s13 Nathalie Dechy FRA 7-6(4), 6-2 Tue Jie's forehand, and Nathalie lining up a backhand *#58 Virginie Razzano FRA d #22 s14 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 Mon Ai's backhand, and Virginie's forehand #23 s15 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #46 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-4, 6-3 Mon #24 s16 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #163 q Tatiana Panova RUS 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#30 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #28 Jelena Jankovic SCG 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tue *#126 q Nathalie Vierin ITA d #29 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 6-2 Mon #32 Klara Koukalova CZE d #60 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 7-5, 7-5 Tue *#43 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #33 Giesela Dulko ARG 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 Mon #34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #45 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-1, 6-3 Mon Iveta's forehand, and Anna's backhand #35 Mara Santangelo ITA d #414 wc Sabine Lisicki GER 3-2, 6-2, 6-1 Mon Sabine and Mara belting backhands #37 Catalina Castano COL d #115 wc Sandra Kloesel GER 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 Tue #38 Kveta Peschke CZE d #62 q Elena Vesnina RUS 6-4, 6-3 Mon *#90 Martina Muller GER d #40 Jill Craybas USA 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 Tue Martina's forehand, and Jill's backhand #41 Anna Smashnova ISR d #85 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Mon Anna and Ekaterina firing forehands *#183 q Julia Vakulenko UKR d #42 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 6-3 Tue #47 Vera Dushevina RUS d #63 q Tathiana Garbin ITA 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 Mon #52 Sybille Bammer AUT d #56 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-3, 6-2 Mon #54 Julia Schruff GER d #65 Emma Laine FIN 6-1, 6-3 Tue Julia's backhand, Emma's forehand, and happy Julia meeting the press #67 Maret Ani EST d #311 Paola Suarez ARG 6(9)-7, 6-2, 6-0 Tue *#137 q Anne Kremer LUX d #121 q Ivana Lisjak CRO 6-0, 7-6(4) Mon Anne's backhand

Berlin, 2nd Round, Wed 11am WTA story losers' prize: $6,775 US; points: 25 #1 s1 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #47 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-1, 6-2 Vera ready to wallop a forehand, and Amelie lining up a backhand     Amelie said: "It was a pretty good match, considering this is my first clay court tournament of the year. I wasn't expecting everything to be working perfectly, but overall I was pretty happy. I think one of the main things to deal with is to become patient on the clay. The first match is always interesting because you’re not used to playing so many balls, so that takes a while to get used to." #4 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #43 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-1, 7-6(3) Nadia lining up a forehand, and Vera firing one (with her new Prince O3 White, which replaces her previous Fischer bat) #5 s3 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #35 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-4, 6-1 Justine firing a forehand, Mara belting a backhand     Justine said: "It was strange to face a player who came into the net so much on clay. so it took me a while to find my rhythm. But once I got going, I played quite well. It was definitely better than last year’s first few matches, where I played nine sets in two days." #8 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI d #67 Maret Ani EST 6-1, 6-4 Patty's lefty and Maret's righty two-handed backhands     Patty has just switched from the Head Liquidmetal Prestige to the Flexpoint Prestige-- last week in Warsaw, after losing to Ana Ivanovic, she said she was having some trouble adjusting and was considering reverting, but she is using the Flexpoint here-- Svetlana Kuznetsova also took some time in switching from the Liquidmetal Instinct to the Flexpoint Instinct last year #9 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS d #183 q Julia Vakulenko UKR 6-2 3-0 retired-- dizziness #10 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #90 Martina Muller GER 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 *#37 Catalina Castano COL d #14 s7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 Catalina's forehand, Anna-Lena following her backhand, and Catalina after match point #16 s8 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #30 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 Daniela's forehand #18 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #38 Kveta Peschke CZE 6-3, 6-1 Dinara ready to serve, Kveta ready to wallop a backhand #23 s15 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #32 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-4, 6-3 *#34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #24 s16 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-4 #25 Martina Hingis SUI d #54 Julia Schruff GER 6-4, 6-3 Martina, who has switched from the Yonex RQ 7 to the RQ 5, firing a forehand, and Julia about to launch one #41 Anna Smashnova ISR d #58 Virginie Razzano FRA 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 #49 Jie Zheng CHN d #137 q Anne Kremer LUX 7-6(3), 6-3 #52 Sybille Bammer AUT d #95 q Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 #70 Na Li CHN d #126 q Nathalie Vierin ITA 6-1, 6-2

Berlin, 3rd Round, Thu 11:30am WTA story loser's prize: $13,285 US; points: 42 #1 s1 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #34 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-4, 6-2 Anna's two handed backhand, and Amelie's one-handed backhand     Amelie said: "Fortunately I got the win, but it was a little tough trying to find my rhythm against [Anna]. I hadn't played her before but it's a case of getting the win and improving on that for the next match." #4 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #49 Jie Zheng CHN 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 Nadia and Jie firing forehands, and Nadia really letting herself go #5 s3 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #23 s15 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 6-0 Maria following a forehand, and Justine launching her one-handed backhand     Maria had taken Justine to three sets in the 2nd round in Berlin in 2005. Justine said: "We had a very tough match here last year and I knew she can be very dangerous. I'm happy with an easy match, it means I'll be fresher for the rest of the tournament hopefully...     "It's amazing when I look back how I was able to do so well on clay last year with all my injuries. I'm definitely fresher this year going into Roland Garros; losing in Charleston already takes some of the pressure off me. My goal for this year is to stay healthy and play a full schedule and I'll take that over winning a Grand Slam. That shows how much this means to me. I just love being out there and competing on the court." #8 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI d #41 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-3, 6-3 Patty's backhand, and Anna's forehand #25 Martina Hingis SUI d #9 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-3, 6-2 Martina watching her backhand fly, Elena firing a forehand, and Martina considering the advantages of owning a truly fine set of modern encyclopedias     Elena had defeated Martina the last three times they had played (they are now tied 3-3 in career matches). In Filderstadt in October, 2002, Elena won the last match that Martina played before her 3-year retirement due to ankle injuries. Elena also defeated Martina earlier this year, in the final in Tokyo, 6-2, 6-0.     Martina said: "Today I played one of my best matches, I had to. It was a very high level match and I definitely picked the right moments to come in and finish off the points. I'm proud of the fact I was able to step it up today when I played a better player, I was able to improve my level. That's what I was able to do when I was younger, to keep a high level up throughout the match... The last three times we played I wasn't even in the match. I knew I had nothing to lose. I knew I had to attack [Elena], stay close to my baseline and hit very deep, because otherwise you're history with her ground strokes being so good."     Elena said: "[Martina] played very well today, taking charge and dictating the points, which was my game plan against her. My balls were quite short, which allowed her to take control, and she's too good to do this against her." #10 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #52 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-2, 6-4 Sybille and Svetlana launching left and right handed backhands *#18 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #16 s8 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 6-2 Dinara ready to lightly tap a forehand *#70 Na Li CHN d #37 Catalina Castano COL 6-1, 6-0 Na's forehand-- her thigh is heavily taped due to the muscle strain that forced her to retire from the Estoril final last Sunday

Berlin, QFs, Fri-Sat noon WTA story losers' prize: $26,050 US; points: 75 #1 s1 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #25 Martina Hingis SUI 4-6, 6-4, 6-4    suspended due to darkness after 2 sets--finished Sat noon Friday: Amelie's forehand, Martina's backhand #4 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #18 s10 Dinara Safina RUS 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Nadia's forehand, Dinara's backhand, and Nadia after match point #5 s3 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #10 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 7-6(2) Justine eyeing a backhand drive, Svetlana swatting one, and Justine sending hers on its way     Justine said: "This was the best match we've ever played against each other. We were both playing well on every point and it was a high level throughout. The difference was how I played the tie-break in the second set. I played aggressive on every point and that made the difference. These are the kinds of matches you need before a Grand Slam, and I'm very happy to have come through in this one." *#70 Na Li CHN d #8 s4 Patty Schnyder SUI 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(1) Na's forehand, Patty's lefty forehand, and Na's backhand     Na said: "I can't believe I won, I've never beaten [Patty] before. I didn't expect to win. I am going to try my best tomorrow, and I'm very proud to be in the semifinals."

Berlin, SFs, Sat 1pm WTA story losers' prize: $51,000 US; points: 135 *#5 s3 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #1 s1 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6-1, 6-2 Justine and Amelie firing forehands, and Justine after match point     Justine said: "It's the best tennis I have played in a long time. I was very confident today in the rallies and had a lot of patience, which paid off. It's always a surprise to win these kinds of matches so easily, but I took it step by step because you can never think it's easy, you have to win every single point."     Amelie said: "I didn't have the best schedule with having to play one set this morning and then my semifinal, but that's the way it goes and you have to adjust. Justine played very well today so all the credit to her."     About the final, Justine said: "Tomorrow will be a tough match. Petrova is one of the best players on clay. She has proven that she is the one in confidence right now." #4 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #70 Na Li CHN 6-1, 6-0 Nadia serving, Na's forehand, Nadia's backhand, and Nadia after match point     Nadia said: "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. It will be a great final. I'm really comfortable out there, and have being playing very consistent for some months now, which gives me a lot of confidence."

Berlin, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $100,000 US; points: 210 winner's prize: $196,900 US; points: 300 #4 s2 Nadia Petrova RUS d #5 s3 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Nadia's forehand, Justine's backhand, Nadia's backhand, and Nadia after match point

Berlin, Doubles Final, Sun after singles losers' prize: $30,000 US winners' prize: $59,000 US cdr31 s3 Jie Zheng & Zi Yan d cdr42 s5 Elena Dementieva & Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3 Jie and Zi, possibly after match point, and with the hardware afterward Berlin, Qual Finals, Sun May 7 11am losers' prize: $1,765 US #62 Elena Vesnina RUS d #365 Andrea Petkovic GER 6-2, 6-4 #63 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #129 Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-0, 6-1 *#137 Anne Kremer LUX d #79 Tvetsana Pironkova BUL 6-4, 7-5 *#183 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #93 Jamila Gajdosova SVK 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 *#126 Nathalie Vierin ITA d #94 Meng Yuan CHN 7-5, 6-1 #95 Laura Pous Tio ESP d #134 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-2, 6-3 #121 Ivana Lisjak CRO d #145 Kathrin Woerle GER 6-1, 6-2 #163 Tatiana Panova RUS d #198 Ting Li 6(8)-7, 6-1, 6-2 Berlin, Withdrawals #6 Mary Pierce FRA r foot #26 Tatiana Golovin FRA ankle #57 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP wrist injury #106 Serena Williams USA knee & ankle

Prague, 1st Round, Mon-Wed 11am, 10am losers' prize: $1,035 US; points: 1 *#89 Kaia Kanepi EST d #27 s1 Marion Bartoli FRA 6(5)-7, 6-3, 6-2 Mon Kaia's forehand *#287 wc Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #31 s2 Lucie Safarova CZE 6(3)-7, 6-4, 6-4 Tue Magdalena running down a forehand #36 s3 Shahar Peer ISR d #466 wc Nikola Frankova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Mon Shahar dispatching a cannonball serve #50 s4 Emilie Loit FRA d #309 q Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-2, 6-4 Tue #55 s5 Samantha Stosur AUS d #190 q Natalie Grandin RSA 6-2, 6-2 Tue #59 s6 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #101 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-4, 6-1Tue #64 s7 Shuai Peng CHN d #109 Bethanie Mattek USA 6-2, 6-3 Tue #69 s8 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #82 Martina Sucha SVK 7-6(1), 6-2 Mon #73 Karolina Sprem CRO d #78 Ashley Harkleroad USA 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 Tue Karolina about to serve, and Ashley on the run #74 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #105 Viktoria Kutuzova UKR 6-2, 6-2 Mon Meghann watching her forehand fly #77 Akiko Morigami JPN d #205 wc Barbora Strycova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Wed *#100 Melinda Czink HUN d #81 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 Tue #83 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #103 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-3, 6-3 Mon Stephanie's backhand *#102 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE d #84 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 Mon #97 Kristina Brandi PUR v #135 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-4, 4-6, 5-6 Tue *#153 q Michaela Pastikova CZE d #122 q Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-2, 7-5 Tue Victoria displaying her amazing psychobelarusski powers of Flexpoint Instinctive levitation-- or possibly a bit miffed

Prague, 2nd Round, Wed-Thu 11am losers' prize: $1,925 US; points: 12 #36 s3 Shahar Peer ISR d #102 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-3 Wed #50 s4 Emilie Loit FRA d #73 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-4, 6-3 Thu #55 s5 Samantha Stosur AUS d #77 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-2, 6-1 Thu #59 s6 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #74 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 7-5, 6-4 Wed #64 s7 Shuai Peng CHN d #153 q Michaela Pastikova CZE 6-2, 6-4 Thu #69 s8 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #100 Melinda Czink HUN 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 Wed *#89 Kaia Kanepi EST d #83 Stephanie Foretz FRA 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(8) Wed *#287 wc Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #135 Milagros Sequera VEN 7-6(3), 6-0 Thu

Prague, QFs, Fri losers' prize: $3,580 US; points: 24 #36 s3 Shahar Peer ISR d #69 s8 Alona Bondarenko UKR 7-5, 6-0 Shahar's forehand, and Alona following her backhand *#55 s5 Samantha Stosur AUS d #50 s4 Emilie Loit FRA 6-4, 6-3 *#89 Kaia Kanepi EST d #59 s6 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 7-5, 0-6, 7-5 #64 s7 Shuai Peng CHN d #287 wc Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 7-5, 6-4

Prague, SFs, Sat 11am WTA story losers' prize: $6,650 US; points: 43 #36 s3 Shahar Peer ISR d #89 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-3, 6-0     Shahar said: "I was very happy with the way I was playing. I'm waiting for the final. I hope to do well. We will see afterwards." #55 s5 Samantha Stosur AUS d #64 s7 Shuai Peng CHN 6-1, 6-3

Prague, Final, Sun 2pm loser's prize: $12,345 US; points: 67 winner's prize: $22,900 US; points: 95 #36 s3 Shahar Peer ISR d #55 s5 Samantha Stosur AUS 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 Shahar following her backhand, and Samantha watching her forehand fly

Prague, Doubles Final Sun after singles losers' prize: $3,640 US winners' prize: $6,750 US cdr108 s2 Marion Bartoli & Shahar Peer d cdr150 Ashley Harkleroad & Bethanie Mattek 6-4, 6-4 Prague, Qual Finals, Mon May 8 11am losers' prize: $555 US #122 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #274 Aniko Kapros HUN 6-2, 6-0 #153 Michaela Pastikova CZE d #162 Lucie Hradecká CZE 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) *#190 Natalie Grandin RSA d #158 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 *#309 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #159 Sabine Klaschka GER 6-2, 6-2 Prague, Withdrawals #72 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP #116 Elena Bovina RUS r shoulder

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